User blog:Raylan13/Art of Nexus: Instances
Go back for the Art of Nexus: Creatures blog. :Go forward for the Art of Nexus: Environments blog. Answers are here! Check after the art section! The Art of Nexus: Instances Today is the fourth part of a multi-week arc highlighting concept art provided to the site by Carbine Studios, the developers of WildStar Online. Last week we examined some of the creatures on Nexus, and Carbine was kind enough to tease us that news for fishing and vanity pets was coming (soon); they also said that the humanoids we see in the game aren't out of the question for becoming playable in the future! This week we're focusing on a large assortment of instance shots. Feel free to post your questions in the Comments section below. They can be questions specifically about the pictures and dungeons, or maybe things you like in those areas you'd like to see carried over, things you didn't like, or even what the direction might be going for further development! Ice cave ideas.jpg Mine.jpg Ruins of Kel Voreth Osun5.jpg Osun6.JPG Osun7.jpg Sanctuary of the Swordmaiden Torinefinal.JPG Torineinterior.JPG Torineintnotes.jpg Skullcano Marauder squid zombie obsolete.jpg Newsquid zombie withoutveins.jpg Redmoon.jpg Skullcano new2.jpg Stormtalon's Lair Incubator 01 A.jpg Incubator 01 C.jpg Incubator 01 D.jpg New Raptor 03.jpg ---- Answers ;Is the environment in each of them completely different, or do you reuse any of the art to save time? :We try to reuse when it makes sense. Mostly we reuse props that populate the scene. We have enough barrels crates, control panels, computer screens, etc to never have to make another again. So we focus our budget for making unique assets that have an impact on the player’s experience. There’s an art to using old assets in new and interesting ways to keep the experience fresh. We have a lot of world groups fleshed out, so you’ll see a lot more reuse in those spaces. Sometimes you want to invest in completely new assets when you are trying to give the player something they’ve never seen before. It’s a balance. ;How long does it usually take to create a Raid boss, from drawing to in game? :Oh man, I couldn’t say exactly. We iterate so many times. This is a rough estimate: 2 wks concept, 3-4 weeks model, 1 week rigging, 1 month animation, 1 month design, 2-4 weeks FX, 1 week audio. So roughly 3-4 months if we only have one person per team. That could go faster or slower depending on how much we can Frankenstein together from other assets. ;Will we see more dragon-looking bosses in the future like Stormtalon? :It’s possible but for now there are no plans to add dragons to the game. If we did it would be our own take like we did with Stormtalon. ;What are the steps to turn these artworks into a video game environment? Are they just for reference? :Sometimes they are reference and other times the concept is more of a blueprint. You have to make a lot of creative choices when building an environment in 3D. You really have to be aware of the size of the space and the encounters it’s designed for. Our process is this: blue sky concept, paper map, 3D grey model, tactical concepts, rough model, initial spawn pass, playthrough, revise models and spawning, playthrough, final models, spawning/scripting tweaks, texturing, propping, final spawning/scripting, finial lighting, final playthroughs. We are pretty much playtesting all of the time. There is a lot of back and forth between design and art during the process. If you don’t build in time to adjust, you’re going to end up wasting a lot of art time polishing areas that need adjusting. Category:Blog posts Category:News